The Gift of the Magi - Practice

1. From where does Della get the $1.87 according to the text?

• a. By haggling with merchants

• b. By shoveling sidewalks in front of stores

• c. By stealing the money from stores

• d. By working for the grocer, butcher, & vegetable man

2. Why is Della upset at the beginning of the story?

• a. She lost her job shoveling in front of the stores on her block.

• b. She has been fighting with Jim.

• c. She does not have enough money to buy a nice present for Jim.

• d. She was recently arrested by the mendicancy squad.

3. What are Jim and Della's most valued possessions?

• a. Jim's watch and Della's hat

• b. Jim's brief case and Della's jacket

• c. Jim's shoes and Della's cooking pot

• d. Jim's watch and Della's hair

4. Why does Della go to Madame Sofronie's?

• a. To look for work

• b. To sell her hair

• c. To beg for money

• d. To shovel Madame Sofronie's sidewalk

5. Which figurative language technique is used in the following sentence? "I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present."

• a. Metaphor

• b. Personification

• c. Hyperbole

• d. Understatement

6. Which best explains why Jim is so stunned when he first sees Della?

• a. He doesn't like how his wife looks with short hair

• b. He is shocked that she bought him such a nice gift.

• c. He doesn't recognize his wife.

• d. He bought her a gift that she can't use.

7. Which best describes the narrator's tone in this sentence from the last paragraph? "Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication."

• a. Humorous

• b. Serious

• c. Melancholy

• d. Intolerant

8. With which statement would the narrator most likely agree?

• a. Jim and Della's gifts were bad because they did not consider one another's needs.

• b. Jim and Della's gifts were good because they will each get a lot of use out of their nice gifts.

• c. Jim and Della's gifts were bad because they wasted their money on things that they can't use.

• d. Jim and Della's gifts were good because they sacrificed so much for one another.

9. Which event happened last?

• a. Della bought Jim a gift.

• b. Della cried about only having $1.87.

• c. Della went to Madame Sofronie's

• d. Della cut her hair.

10. Which statement best expresses the theme of this story?

• a. Make sure that you give people gifts that they can actually use.

• b. Spending time with the people you love is more important than getting them gifts.

• c. The best gifts involve sacrifice.

• d. Don't waste your money on expensive gifts.